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Iran Hopes To Resist Sanctions By Boosting Production
Iranian officials call it "the resistance economy," reflecting their defiance of Western attempts to halt the country's uranium enrichment program. Efforts to wean Iran from imports and to produce more goods domestically, however, have proved challenging. While Iran's non-oil exports have strengthened steadily in recent years, its total imports have risen more dramatically. Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became Iran's president in 2005, total imports have increased from $39.1 billion to $57.5 billion, according to statistics published by Tehran's Chamber of Commerce. To reverse that upward trend, the Islamic republic has implemented a policy of reducing what has been deemed unnecessary consumption. The plan lays out a hierarchy of imports, starting with essential goods, including medicines that Iran does not produce, and ending with luxury items that authorities believe could be produced at home. But any effort to increase domestic production faces serious head winds. An immediate issue for local producers is that sanctions have made accessing raw materials impossible or prohibitively expensive, forcing the closure of hundreds of factories and increasing Iran's already high unemployment rate. Posted by: trailing wife 2012-10-29 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=354880 |